A federal court sentenced a Texas man to 15 months in prison for conducting a COVID-19 hoax in April 2020, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Christopher “Christopher Robbins” Perez, 40, was found guilty on two counts relating to charges that criminalize false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons, according to court records.
“Evidence presented during trial revealed that Perez posted two threatening messages on Facebook in which he claimed to have paid someone who was infected with COVID-19 to lick items at grocery stores in the San Antonio area to scare people away from visiting the stores,” the press release said.
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A screenshot of the first message was sent to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center by an online tip. The SWTFC then contacted the FBI in San Antonio, which determined the threat was manufactured, according to the release.
“Perez did not pay someone to intentionally spread coronavirus at grocery stores, according to investigators and Perez’s own admissions,” the release said.
Along with the sentence, Perez was fined $1,000, according to the DOJ.
“Trying to scare people with the threat of spreading dangerous diseases is no joking matter,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff. “This office takes seriously threats to harm the community and will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”
Threatening to use COVID-19 against a civilian population is unacceptable, even if that threat is a hoax, said FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs.
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“Perez’s actions were knowingly designed to spread fear and panic and today’s sentencing illustrates the seriousness of this crime,” Combs said. “The FBI would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their help in this case.”
